Kansas Trip 2011

We had a great time in Kansas this year! There was a a lot to celebrate--my Dad's 50th birthday and my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary--and a lot of people to meet, see, and visit. The 18-hour drive was not as miserable as we had thought. We stopped at Ft. Collins for lunch at Panera and the kids enjoyed going to the library next-door to read and stretch out for about an hour. Like I suspected, Evan had the hardest time in the car because he doesn't sleep very well in the car and being 2 (almost 3) he doesn't understand why we're NOT THERE YET! Luke and Maddy could've slept the whole way if there hadn't been interruptions. :) We rolled into my parents' driveway a little after midnight on Sunday, July 3rd. On the drive back to Utah we booked it home and pulled in at 10 pm on Monday, July 11th. Evan keeps saying it's time to go back!

Here is a look at our week in KANSAS!

SUNDAY



On Sunday we celebrated my Dad's 50th birthday with lots of friends and family. The party was at Hammond Park and my mom did an awesome job with the food, decorating, etc. She made the fun 50 full of pictures for my Dad, above.



Luke got to meet GG, Grandpa Neer, Aunt Barbara and Debbie, and his cousins Brett and Josh.





My mom and Kayla did these cute centerpieces. Kayla and I had fun making the "firecracker" part that day.







Jonathan was in charge of entertainment and put a bunch of questions around the tables about the year my Dad was born. I loved it! Being the history buff he is, I think my dad loved it too.







I guess this is my Dad's favorite picture, as Ozzie for Halloween. Oh my. :)



The boys swinging with GG and Aunt Debbie





Maddy and Aunt Kayla at the tire swing



My awesome cousins, Brett and Josh. They were a huge help that day!



My Grandpa at the grill. He and Jonathan did a ton of grilling that night!



Luke meeting his Grandma J.





Luke became good buddies with Aunt Debbie, and Evan would not let his cousin Ariel leave his side that night. He kept yelling over at her to come sit with him, play with him, and talk to him.







The flag cake. Just like last year and every year before, the flag cake is a must.
This year with a 5-0!





Jonathan answering the 1961 questions; my Dad enjoying himself and "Robert's Day"



My dad with his sisters, Barbara and Debbie.
And today is my aunt Barbara's birthday--HAPPY BIRTHDAY Barbara!



MONDAY, July 4th



On the fourth of July Jonathan's family holds their annual breakfast at the park and baseball game. We hadn't been in Kansas on the 4th for four years so it was fun to partcipate in this tradition again. It was already scorching and humid at noon so Luke and I headed home for a nap while Jonathan and the kids stayed for the baseball game.

That was one thing that hit us hard...the heat and humidity. The first couple of days we were exhausted and taking lots of naps trying to catch up from the drive and from the draining weather. July is probably not the best month to visit.



We spent the evening at GG and Grandpa Neer's house. The kids just love being there. GG always has lots of things to color and do.



We ate a big dinner and Luke enjoyed exploring his new surroundings.



My Grandpa let us ride his new scooter...it is from the WWII era. Watch out Maddy! :)



The kids got to ride too. My dad was like a little kid on that thing...he could have rode it all night had we let him.



My Grandpa has raised lots of pigeons and won many awards for them. The kids always love to see and touch them.





The kids had fun with the sparklers. Poor Maddy got burned from one because of her mama, so after the first two she was done for the night. But I was proud of Evan for doing them. He is usually scared of doing things like that.





Grandpa turned on the sprinklers and the kids had a blast!! It was so hot and the sprinklers were a perfect way to cool off.









We roasted marshmallows and ate smores while Jonathan put on a little fireworks show for us.





Then the fireflies came out and the kids were trying to catch them. Evan has been really scared of bugs so we were trying to show him that bugs can be fun too! With the fireworks and fireflies, it was a magical night that I was so grateful that I could spend with my family.



TUESDAY

On Tuesday morning, Kayla invited Maddy and me to go with her to yoga class. Her teacher was thrilled to have Maddy in class too and was really great at including her in everything. Maddy did so well and was so cute to watch. She was determined to figure out all of the moves and kept up with everyone for the entire hour. She is quite the flexible girl too. I think Kayla has inspired us to look for a yoga class near us.



Later, on a HOT, and I mean HOT, and sticky Tuesday afternoon, we went and visited the farm where my parents have a share of yummy produce.



We saw the newly shaven sheep,



the chickens and ducks,



Jonathan and Maddy climbed the very high treehouse,



(I was so glad when they made it down safely)



swung on the tire swings,







and dipped our feet in some nice, cool water.



When we got back into town we went to Grandpa and Grandma Starr's house to visit them and lots of cousins. Maddy and Leia enjoyed a fun game of Candyland and the girls put on a fun play of...Peter Pan, I think.



WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday we went bowling at Flint Hills Bowl. My dad was very excited about the bowl and lunch for $5. Um, the burger was not the best and after about the third time he started telling me about where they get their meat, I was done. And guess who ate the rest of my burger? Yeah, my dad.

It was Evan's first time to bowl and he loved running up there and letting the ball go. He even got a strike one time! He had some help with the bumpers and ramp. And I was actually whooping the boys in one game with my steady, but slow style. :)

Later that day, (after our afternoon nap), we went to Grandma and Grandpa J's for dinner. Evan and Maddy loved being with their Utah cousins and I think started to realize when we were at grandma J's that hey, you are in my family and this is where we fit in. Evan also enjoyed Grandpa's little tractors. And Luke got to meet Grandpa for the first time!

THURSDAY

On Thursday we went to Topeka for the day. We met up with some friends that Jonathan met while going to pharmacy school, Kimberly and Megan. It was so good to see them and to catch up. And it happened to be Kim's birthday and it was great to be a part of her special day. Megan made a delicious cake that we all enjoyed after lunch. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures together.



Then we went to Gage Park and met up with my friend, Krista who I used to work with when we lived in Topeka. It was so fun to talk and reminisce with her too. Luke just loved her and loved having her push him in the swing.





We were hoping to ride the train, but it was getting fixed. I think I was more sad than the kids because of the great memories I have of Maddy and me riding the train over and over. She LOVED that train. But they had a great, and sweaty, time at the park.







This is about the time things started to get rough. The kids were hot, and the boys needed lots of diaper changes and naps so we said our quick good-byes and drove around in the A/C while the kids got a little nap in.



It was so good to see you, Krista! Thanks for braving the heat with us. :)



Then we headed to our friends house, the Budges. It's always so good to see them and their growing family. Their kids are so cute and our kids loved playing with them. We could always talk for hours with them if we had the time. They are awesome people!

We also drove by our old neighborhood and townhome. Maddy was 3 when we left, so I'm not sure if she has very many memories of that house, but Jonathan and I sure do. It is always crazy going back to a place where you used to live and thinking about what life was like for us at that time. For us Topeka was where we started our family, brought our first baby home from the hospital, worked, went to school, and watched our little girl grow up. Some of it was hard, but maybe that is why it became a very sacred time for us that I will always cherish.

Later that evening we went to Uncle Adam and Aunt Chanda's home and watched a video that Ariel put together about her trip to California. The kids had more cousin fun too.

FRIDAY

A couple of months before our trip, I was working on a slideshow for my grandparents' 50th anniversary celebration. By working during naptimes and Jonathan's days off, I was able to get it all done before we left for Kansas. But when Jonathan and I went to burn the slideshow onto a DVD the two nights before we left, the final product was a mess! Text was not showing up, the transitions between pictures were non-existent, and some pictures just didn't even make it into the slideshow. So, we brought our tower with us to Kansas hoping we could fix it there. Jonathan's brother, Adam helped us off and on all week trying to get our computer to go faster and to fix the glitches with the pinnacle software I used. On Friday morning he helped me, for 2 1/2 hours to get the last-minute glitches figured out and to try and put the missing pictures back in. After burning it, there were some blimps with the pictures and 2 were missing, but it was MUCH better than before. I am so thankful to Adam and for all that he did to help us get it fixed! We would not have had a slideshow if it wasn't for his knowledge and help.

After getting the slideshow ready, Jonathan, Maddy and I went with Ariel, Jonathan's sister's family, and his parents to a little European bakery in Hartford. The shop was actually closed, but since his parents know the owners they opened the store just for us that day and had some delicious food prepared. The owner is actually from France and went to culinary school there before meeting her husband, who is from Hartford. It is truly a gem in a little town.

I wish I had taken some pictures of the food, but we were way too busy devouring it up! My favorite was the chocolate croissant...divine. Everything was divine, but that was melt-in-your-mouth divine. We also had a passion fruit cake, crepes, tarts, and cream puffs.



Maddy enjoyed telling her cousin Ariel lots of stories.





Lily and Russell



Grandma and Grandpa Starr waiting for lunch



When we got home, we went to the pool with my aunt Julean and her family, my uncle Gentry and his family and my parents and sister, Kayla. It felt so good to get in the water. Even though Maddy is still too short for the fast, yellow slide, she had a great time with her cousins going down the blue slide, and floating along the lazy river. Evan and I chilled in the little pool, while Grammy had our water-loving Luke.

SATURDAY

Saturday was the big day--my grandparents' anniversary celebration! In the morning my mom hosted all 25 members of the family for breakfast. We had cinnamon rolls, fruit and my mom's famous hashbrown quiche. It always tastes better when she makes it too!

After breakfast we watched the slideshow as a family. This was such a special time for us as a family to watch how far my grandparents have come and all that they have accomplished as a couple...most importantly, raising a wonderful family. Like my mom said, it was like each and every family member could see exactly where they fit in and how very loved and cherished they are. It was then that everything I had worked on became worth it.




My Grandpa J is the president of the Sertoma Club in Emporia and as the conductor of the local train. So after the slideshow we had our own private train rides for the next two hours. We even got to help ourselves inside the ticket booth (this was very thrilling to me for some reason) where they had plenty of cold drinks and Grandpa gave each of the grandkids a wooden whistle to blow while riding. It was so much fun.



Grandpa J, in his uniform--overalls and hat, with his grandkids



Evan admitted to me that he was scared to get on the train, so he was very content managing things from the side. Whenever it was time for the train to leave, he would yell "ALLABOARDUH" and wave to everyone as they passed by. He also enjoyed a nice, cold Sunkist, which yes, has caffiene in it, and which yes, we paid for the rest of the day.



Luke's first train ride! He was such a happy baby to be outside on the train, with the wind in his hair.




Anna and Maddy, pretty girls in pink



The big kids got to ride too :)



At 4 o' clock the party started! The reception was held at the newly restored Granada theater downtown. I had never been inside, and it is beautiful.



My Grandma did almost all of the preparations on her own including the centerpieces, food, ice cream island, and all of the coordinating. Everything turned out so well.



The younger grandkids wore t-shirts with my grandparents' theme: The First Fifty Years, Going on Eternity. Kaity, Kayla and I wore pink scarves, Jonathan a pink tie, and the four children and spouses wore corsages and boutineres.



The slideshow played on the big screen over and over while people mingled and ate dinner and ice cream sundaes served by the ward young women. My grandparents greeted the 230 or so guests at the door.





All of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, minus two. Ryan, is on a mission in Cambodia and Misha couldn't make it with her new job.



Evan thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the pink tractor. My grandpa J loves tractors and has what he calls the pink tractor to honor the fight against breast cancer. People were able to donate to the cancer research fund, in lieu of gifts.

SUNDAY



Sunday was our day to relax. We went to church with the whole family and enjoyed listening to my Grandma and Grandpa J speak at sacrament meeting. They are such great examples of faith and love to me and I have been thinking a lot about the things they talked about that morning.



We spent the afternoon with my other grandparents. The kids loved playing one last time with GG and their Grandpa Neer. We will miss them very much and wish we could see them more often!



We try to make it back to Kansas once each year and after each time, even with all of the work it is to pack and travel with 3 small children, we are always so glad we did it. Spending time with our extended family and going back to our "home" is worth the effort every time.